respectable

1 of 3

adjective

re·​spect·​able ri-ˈspek-tə-bəl 

1

: worthy of respect : estimable

2

: decent or correct in character or behavior : proper

3

a

: fair in size or quantity

a respectable amount

b

: moderately good : tolerable

a respectable performance

4

: fit to be seen : presentable

respectable clothes

respectability

ri-ˌspek-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

respectableness

ri-ˈspek-tə-bəl-nəs 

noun

respectably

ri-ˈspek-tə-blē 

adverb

respectable

2 of 3

noun (1)

: a respectable person

respectability

3 of 3

noun (2)

re·​spect·​abil·​i·​ty -ˌspektəˈbilətē 

-lətē, 

-i

1

a

: the quality or state of being respectable

b

: the status of being respectable : consequence

2

a

: a respectable person : respectable persons

the respectability of the town

b

: a respectable convention : decency

those little respectabilities that make group life bearable

Synonyms of respectable

Adjective

• respected
• prestigious
• reputable
• reputed
• distinguished
• esteemed
• estimable

Examples of respectable in a Sentence

Adjective

She comes from a very respectable family.

no respectable dietician would advise people to eat just one kind of food

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The Acer laptop earned top marks in both the Cinebench and Geekbench single-core CPU tests, and came in a respectable second place for the Cinebench multi-core and HandBrake video conversion tests. — Marshall Honorof, PC Magazine, 7 Nov. 2026

Blades Brown was in the field in Mexico and finished a respectable T-19, and during the event, an unsubstantiated yet absolutely hysterical rumor about the teenage phenom made the rounds in the golf world. — Mark Harris Outkick, FOXNews.com, 2 Nov. 2026

Figure just one team each will qualify for the playoffs out of the NFC East and NFC South, which would mean the remaining five would come from the NFC North and NFC West — and both of those divisions are respectable from top to bottom. — Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2026

And Florida has had enough respectable losses, embarrassing losses and inexplicable losses to last several coaching administrations. — Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 31 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1603, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (1)

1770, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for respectable

• collectable
• collectible
• correctable
• delectable
• detectable
• expectable
• injectable
• protectable
• resectable
• selectable
• uncollectible
• undetectable

Kids Definition

respectable

adjective

re·​spect·​able

ri-ˈspek-tə-bəl

1

: worthy of respect : reputable

2

: decent or correct in character or behavior : proper

respectable people

3

: fair in size, quality, or quantity

a respectable amount of money

4

: fit to be seen : presentable

respectable clothes

respectability

-ˌspek-tə-ˈbil-ət-ē

noun

respectableness

-ˈspek-tə-bəl-nəs

noun

respectably

-blē

adverb